(film review) - Spider-Man: Brand New Day

I made this film an absolute priority because I knew there was no way I'd avoid spoilers for long. This is one of those event movies. Like The Odyssey, I booked my ticket on the day, but this time it was even worse. The best seats had already gone, entire screenings were greyed out, and when I arrived at the cinema, it was absolutely rammed. This film is going to make all the money.

Before going in, a friend who had already seen it gave it a solid 7/10. Having now watched it myself, I completely understand that score... although I'd probably rate it a little higher. This feels like the beginning of a brand-new Spider-Man trilogy, and more importantly, it feels like a completely different era. If the first three Tom Holland films were Peter Parker growing up, Brand New Day is where adulthood begins.

The tone, style, and execution are noticeably more mature and character-driven. That's not a criticism of Jon Watts' trilogy—I loved those films—but watching Homecoming and then Brand New Day back-to-back is like watching the Harry Potter films evolve. The world has grown up, and so has Peter Parker. I really enjoyed this film, and here's why.


The film opens by reminding audiences who Peter Parker is, the sacrifices he's made, and everyone he's lost while being Spider-Man. He's still New York's friendly neighbourhood hero, but when the Department of Damage Control comes under attack, Spider-Man teams up with its director to track down the mysterious culprit. The problem? This new threat can influence other people, making them incredibly difficult to stop. Alongside the investigation, Peter is still trying to balance being Spider-Man, being Peter Parker, and protecting the people closest to him without putting them in danger.

I do have to admit that my viewing experience wasn't ideal. Cinema etiquette was practically non-existent. People turned up late, shining phone torches down the already clearly lit and labelled steps. Others decided taking photos with the flash on was somehow acceptable. Half a row realised they were sitting in the wrong seats and shuffled around mid-film. Sitting on the aisle probably didn't help either, as I noticed absolutely everything. At one point I genuinely wanted to shout, "Oi! You with the phone, cut it out!" It wasn't constant, but it happened often enough to keep pulling me out of the experience. I even heard a baby crying twice—which honestly bothered me far less than the endless phone screens lighting up the cinema.

As for the film itself, it's top-notch. Maybe it runs a touch long, although that feeling was probably amplified by everything happening around me. There are a handful of nitpicks, but nothing major. I got genuinely emotional a couple of times, especially during one particular fake-out halfway through. I was furious... in the best possible way. That's exactly the reaction Destin wanted.

The story is excellent, but what really stood out was the character work. Tom Holland and Zendaya share some of the strongest scenes the franchise has ever produced. Their conversations feel genuine, mature, and earned; you feel the growth and weight of the past being carried by Peter. The MCU also feels wonderfully alive here, with plenty of familiar faces, background cameos, and subtle hints about where everything is heading next. Even the post-credit scene teases another intriguing step in Peter's future.

Visually, this film looks fantastic. The cinematography is gorgeous, the score is outstanding, and despite some large-scale action sequences, everything remains clear and easy to follow. You really feel like you are Spider-Man swinging through a real New York City. Everything felt authentic. The fight choreography is excellent, the pacing of the action works brilliantly, and the humour lands throughout. Spider-Man is as witty as ever, but a surprising amount of the comedy comes from Frank Castle. Yes, The Punisher. Oddly enough, his foul-mouthed personality works perfectly alongside Spider-Man's lighter energy.

Performance-wise, everyone delivers. Tom Holland and Zendaya give what I'd easily call their best performances in these roles. You can genuinely see both the actors and their characters maturing. The same goes for Sadie Sink, Michael Mando, and Jon Bernthal. The chemistry between everyone feels effortless and believable.

Despite featuring plenty of MCU world-building, this still feels like a relatively intimate Spider-Man story. The film even jokes about itself being "small potatoes" several times, which genuinely made me laugh, but it's also what we want from a Spider-Man movie. Not every film must save the world, you know? But beneath that smaller scale are some fascinating ideas that clearly point towards much bigger things. Without spoiling anything, there's one concept that, in the future, could involve either two companies or the company evolving into another company that I can easily see becoming a major storyline or major antagonist moving forward. You'll know exactly what I mean when you see it/catch it.

Although Brand New Day is very different from Homecoming, Far From Home, and No Way Home, it probably shares the most DNA with No Way Home—just with a far more mature perspective. The stakes may not be universe-ending this time, but Peter's personal struggles hit much harder because they're grounded and relatable, and we have all seen and felt it. By the end, the film has something surprisingly meaningful to say about carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders and accepting that you don't always have to face it alone.

Go and see this film before someone inevitably spoils it for you.

(film review) - Captain Marvel

We are at a stage in our lives and in Marvel's franchise that an origin movie may now be out of place.  I mean our lord savour, Kevin Feige has mentioned no more origin movies, yet this one is a semi origin movie with a twist and ultimately, Marvel has stumbled with this one.  It's sad to say, but they have and although I will review the film, I won't go into all the details and spoil anything, but reasons as to why they stumbled but didn't fall.
Marvel have stumbled with many films.  Their way of doing something different and/or when they first started out, they were slowly piecing together what they wanted to do with the franchise.  The Incredible Hulk is good, Ironman 2 is good, Thor: The Dark World is good and Ironman 3 is Goodish (not one of my favourites at all), but Marvel have had greater and many more hits than misses and have made small ret-cons here and there.  One of the major ones of recent, by no fault of their own I guess, was with the Spider-Man: Homecoming movie, regarding the year.  But that came down to communication and "admin" error? However, this is something that has  been more forgiving by fans and helps with the integrating of such character into a grander story.  If the new and upcoming Avengers: Endgame grosses around 3 billion worldwide, we are looking at a 10 Billion Dollar Franchise.  10 Billion.  That's 9 zeroes.
But how does Captain Marvel's story fit into this? Well, any way Marvel can squeeze it in...for the women of the world!?

Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) is a Kree operative for Starforce who goes by the name of Vers.  She is a confident, upbeat, determined, yet hard-headed woman who get's the job done at any cost.  She has a good moral compass but is plagued by dreams and visions of what seems to be another life.  On a mission to eradicate the Kree's sworn enemies, The Skrulls, the mission goes wrong and from that point, Carol aka Vers spends the rest of the movie trying to figure out the mysteries of her dreams and visions, who she really is and what and whom she is ultimately fighting for.

It sounds great on paper, but I personally feel that this movie could have been executed in a better way.  This is where I feel they stumbled, and not fell.  I felt that it was not fully fleshed out and that some of the characters could have had more depth as well as maybe, the film being a psychological thriller, a bit like how 'The Winter Soldier' was a 70's political thriller.  With the themes in the movie, this film could have touched on that in a big way.  What is real and what isn't.  Who am I?  Total Recall did that.  And for the most part, that movie is a classic for many reasons.  But they would still need to cater to the young ladies of the world to aspire to be Captain Marvel.

I didn't hate the film as I quite enjoyed it.  Brie is not miscast at all and their are some great visuals and some really quiet moments that allow particular characters to shine.  Lashana Lynch is great as well as Samuel L. Jackson.  But as I said earlier, some character development with some other characters would have made the story a bit meatier.  There are some decent visual gags as well as the many mid-nighties references.  With many easter eggs and visual references of movies from that era, this movie hits it out of the park, but ultimately felt like a Phase 1 Movie in a Phase 3 world.  Doctor Strange is a origin movie, even Black Panther, yet these movies feel like they pack more of a punch, especially with Black Panther...and this woman has glowing fists!  I felt that it was shoehorned into the MCU because DC made a Wonder Woman movie which was very good.  And these two giants are in deep competition with each other, so there is always a company trying to out-do the other and this is possibly another reason why Marvel stumbles.

A lot of people are saying Carol is over powered and personally, although that is somewhat true, I feel we should have more powerful characters in the MCU, because this is how we will separate the many different tiers of these heroes and be able to tell a variety and multitude of different stories.  Phase 4 is looking to be great and varied, especially with the conclusion of the Fox Deal, I'm very interested in seeing what Carol will be doing in Avengers: Endgame and after.  A sequel and the many prospects it has is great fore the future of the MCU as well as the many women and little girls who will feel empowered by Captain Marvel.

(film review) - Black Panther

Captain America: The Winter Soldier, was a great film.  Arguably for me, the best stand-alone movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Captain America: Civil War, was a great film.  My opinion on the Russo Brothers second movie with Captain America comes in as a tie for me with it's predecessor.  I just don't think it passes TWS, BUT it does do a great job in introducing the Black Panther character flawlessly to steamroll right through this movie.  You got to see this character, his values, how he presents himself, part of his story AND a glimpse of his country.  As soon as he arrives, it's absolutely no nonsense and you immediately loved the character and like me, wanted to know more.  Now having his own movie, it is a wonder how this movie will go.  Directed by the young Ryan Coogler, who also directed Fruitville Station & Creed, Ryan does the most masterful job on showing us who Black Panther is and where he comes from, Wakanda.

Picking up shortly after the events of Civil War, The Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) returns home to be greeted by his mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett), Sister Shuri (Letitia Wright) and his Royal Guard the Dora Milaje.  Now that his father, T'Chaka (John Kani) is dead, T'Challa must now take up his Kingship and rule his nation of Wakanda as their new King.  With the emergence of a long time enemy of Wakanda Ulyesses Klaue (Andy Serkis), T'Challa must go on a mission to take down this enemy, but when the mission goes wrong on 'Day-One', this sets some uneasiness with some of the locals and also coincidentally brings forth a new foe Erik 'Killmonger' Setvens (Michael B. Jordan), who is a direct threat to T'Challa and the Throne.  T'Challa must overcome these challenges and threats to himself, his people and the throne.

This is a great and very layered film.  From the beginning of the movie until the very end after the Credits.  The Social commentary and political standpoints in this movie are very apparent, but do not beat you over the head with it.  They address current issues in real life flawlessly as well as negating stereotypes and turning them on it's head.  Very culturally aware and without coming across preachy, is able to drip feed a tiny bit of history of the real world, what has been done, what we do as people and what is likely to happen.  Baring in mind that the MCU is set in the "real world", this movie does a lot to change the narrative a little and opens you up to ideas of what could have been, could be and how things should be.

At first, when I heard and read reviews of this film, I was slightly disappointed once I had finished watching it, but then I asked myself, "what could have been done better?" I thought about this long and hard until I decided that although the film isn't perfect and should have been a little longer, ultimately I needed more from the villain.  This made me realise that, not only was the villain great, his story was also great.

The visuals are amazing.  The colours usedThe acting in this movie from everyone was excellent.  Sure some accents were not THAT great, but you understood where they were going with it and what was being said.  The costumes and outfits were amazing and very well realised and detailed.  Pulling a lot of real life culture into this movies and you could see it.  I've not read a Black Panther comic book, BUT the imagery looked as though it was taken directly from the comics.  The fights scenes although, not a lot, were all pretty good.  The mission fight was just excellent in every way and the use of the camera and the angles were great.  The last fight scene was not THAT great, a little CGI heavy, but they were awful and did not take away from the story.  I do believe that Marvel did a better job in giving us what they have done for a few films now, with their bad guy.  Mentioning the bad guy; excellent.  You understood his motives and although sometimes you just want to hate the bad guy and he must be defeated, he makes you feel sympathetic to his cause.  The film is VERY funny in places, may actually make you cry and I walked away from the film ranting and raving about the character M'Baku (Winston Duke).  People will have their favourites but he was mine.

A lot of people may want different things from this movie due to it being a comic book/superhero movie, but this movie is much bigger than that.  The fact that it didn't really feel like a superhero and it feeling different, but still feeling the same was an achievement which walks the same line as The Winter Soldier for me.  A stand-alone movie that raises the bar and connects to the larger MCU story-arc and will definitely get you excited for Infinity War.  Go watch it...you may even watch it more than once because it is THAT entertaining.

(film review) - Spider-Man Homecoming

So, they have released another Spider-Man movie because Sony Pictures (Sony) who have made Spider-Man movies since 1977 and while technology has got a lot better over the years, the last few memorable movies over the last 15 years have been good and somewhat great in parts, to me, has not really captured the essence of Spider-Man.  Shout out to Tobey Maguire but, I DID prefer Andrew Garfield.  But the Spider-Man 2 film can arguably be the best Spider-Man movie they have ever done.

The reason why we have another movie is due to Spider-Man having a soft Reboot of the character when they put him in Captain America Civil War after striking a compromise with Sony, Marvel are able to use Spider-Man in their MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), renting him whilst Sony are basically leasing him out as they currently have the rights to use him as agreed by Marvel.  Long story short, the character belongs to Marvel but marvel sold the rights off to Sony.  Sony need to do a movie with Spider-Man every so often or the rights will revert back to Marvel.  So this deal to use Spidey in the MCU is short-term at the moment but we will never know at this moment in time if this will become longer term.

As for the Movie, Peter Parker (Tom Holland) has been Spider-Man for around 6 months and the movie basically picks up after Captain America Civil War, where Peter Parker enjoyed being an Avenger and wants to continue crime-fighting and thwarting bad guys. Peter is at school and between studying and wanting to be Spider-Man soo bad, Peter is finding school tedious.  When Peter discovers The Shocker (Bokeem Woodbine) only to later find out that he is working for Adrian Toombs aka The Vulture (Michael Keaton), Spidey finds himself in an impossible situation where he is trying to impress Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and stop the bad guys in his Amazing Spider-Man suit, but is being knocked back by Tony because he wants him to focus on the smaller scale crimes and to leave the major criminals to the bigger guys who handle bigger threats.

This film is spectacular and even more superior in the 4DX experience.  The direction in this movie is great and I do not have a single complaint.  Having seen this twice, I might need to see it again to break it down a little more to comb through it with a fine toothed comb, but I understood everything Sony/Marvel were going for.  Also, great in 3D, but 3D does take away some of the finer details, visually.

To explain, this is another reboot of the character EVERYBODY and their Grandparent knows and we totally did not need another Uncle Ben death OR 'With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility' speech...AGAIN!
I understood that they wanted to focus on a kid playing a kid rather than a 30+ year old man playing a kid.  This played out through the characters, the acting, the things they say and how they say it, what they are doing and the general setting/environment.  Spider-Man is a geeky kid with a few geeky friends and this film plays into that a lot.  There is even a part in the movie where Spidey is shown as being vulnerable and emphasises, this is just a kid.
I understood the motive of the villain and is one of the more fleshed out villains in recent years from Marvel. You understand his plight and wasn't just moustache twirling.
The side characters were well cast and although they have been picking and choosing between different comic book iterations of Spider-Man, I really enjoyed what they did here and it didn't bother me that some of the characters are not as "Traditional" as they were in a comic books written how many years ago with a mostly white cast.
I also understood how they were trying to make this Spider-Man film a different one to it's predecessors and how they tried to connect it to MCU and for the future and not just cramming 'the future' down our throats.

There are soo much things in this movie, soo many villains they either tip the hat to or subtly point at or elude to with big comical or small comical moments. A VERY minor spoiler here, so SPOILERS (although this doesn't really give much away at all), There is a scene we see in the trailer where Tony and Peter are in the car talking. In the background, Happy is trying to take the suitcase out of the boot and is obviously struggling. When Peter comes out the car and the car drives off, Peter is casually holding the suitcase making those who spot the small detail that, Spider-Man is incredibly strong.  I mean, who caught that?

I'd definitely recommend you see this.  Charming, has heart and is a very well grounded film with a much more loveable Spider-Man because he is KID.  It is very funny without it being a comedy and the drama isn't half-baked.  Definitely the BEST Spider-Man there has been who absolutely captures the essence of Peter Parker the way he was initially intended to be like.

P.S. there are a few things in the trailers which are not in the movie, but to be honest, I don't think you would even care to notice.

Go watch it.

(film review) - Captain America: Civil War

So, I've been telling a friend of mine that you need to watch Captain America: The Winter Soldier as it is the best stand-alone Marvel movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date.  I did explain that you would need to watch Captain America: The First Avenger and then Avengers: Assemble to understand Cap's growth from his first film to his second.  His third film, now coming after Avengers: Age of Ultron, the Russo's have done nothing but another superb job.

Captain America: Civil War is a film that has a story which spins off of several story plots and events from various movies which came before it.  It is another Avengers Movie.  It is another Captain America Movie.  And it is a set up movie to help set up the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) along with introducing two brand new character's along with juggling a story, action and screen time for 13 of our heroes and 2 and a half villains.

Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and the rest of the Avengers is called in by Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt) who wants to discuss the Sokovia Accords due to the major event that took place where a city was dropped from the sky causing hundreds and thousands of casualties.  Accompanied with the Battle of New York and destruction caused in D.C, the newly appointed Registration Act is to be put into place for the Avengers who are to act on behalf of the Government.  However, having different ideologies, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) and James Rhodes (Don Cheadle) agree with the rules, but Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) do not share the same thoughts.  Other members of the Avengers start to take sides until things properly kick off.  In the middle of this, The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) is wanted for questioning due to actions carried out causing problems for Steve, but Steve must do everything he can to find and capture The Winter Soldier and get to the bottom of what is really being going on, who is in control and to also be there for his friend.  While Tony and Steve go head to head, a civil war erupts bringing in two newbies and nobody is safe.

This film is excellent.  I am not saying this because I love Marvel films, but I am saying this because the Russo Brothers can direct.  When you really think about it, 13 heroes in a single film and all given adequate screen time to fit the story and let them shine, which was emotional, about revenge and as I said before, a set up for future movies as well as a sequel to two others, there is no doubt that these two are the best directors to do it in the MCU.  This is not at a discredit to Joss Whedon at all, but it is definitely difficult to not hold these two guys, up there as a set of directors who definitely deliver an excellent experience in movies.  Albeit, comicbook movies, but great movies nonetheless.

Every actor was on their A-Game and the performances was terrific.  The fight scenes were excellent.  As I said the bar has been raised AGAIN.  The story was great and this is an all round great movie to watch.  Every hero felt like they needed to be in this movie and their drive was equally met.  But this goes down to the superb directing.  What I will say is that, the special effects were great, but a lot better in 2D.  3D felt odd in some places.  The fight scenes were upped since CA:TWS and the introduction of the two new characters did not feel forced at all.  If anything, the main villain had his reasons but ultimately didn't need to be in the movie at all but other than that, wait until you see the Airport scene.  The single most greatest action sequence in Comicbook Movie history.  Maybe even Movie History.  Spider-Man (Tom Holland), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Ant-Man (Paul Rudd), literally stole the entire film. If you haven't seen Ant-Man yet, I am pretty sure this film will make you want to see it. Spider-Man homecoming is due out in a few years and so is Black Panther, so we do not have long to wait guys.

Enjoy.

(film review) - Guardians of the Galaxy vol.1

Marvel Studios took a huge gamble with Guardians of the Galaxy by making this comic into a film. If you did not know, in which you ought to, the over arching storyline regarding the Marvel Cinematic Universe films are, Thanos wants to destroy EVERYTHING! I'm not entirely sure if it is all life on particular planets or all life as we know it, but he wants to destroy EVERYTHING. This is the nature of his character. In order for him to do that, I believe, would be to Ashley Catchem the 6 or so Infinity Gems/Stones, attach them to the Infinite Gauntlet and he would be able to do whatever he pleases. He would be unstoppable.

So, to understand this a touch further over the films, Captain America: The First Avenger and Avengers Assemble, deal with the Tessaract which is a Infinity Stone. There are rumours that there is another Infinity Stone in Avengers Assemble, but we will not see that, I'm assuming until Avengers: Age of Ultron. The other Infinity Stone was seen in the Thor: The Dark World movie, so that could be 3 so far, and the rest remains to be seen over the background story arc over the next few films.

Guardians of the Galaxy, is a film which is to bridge the gap between Earth and the cosmos. Although this was achieved with Thor, in this film, you get a better sense of a wider and greater existence of space, spaceships and aliens along with an imminent threat which spans across not only Earth, but the Galaxy as we know it or not know it. I'll explain.

The film starts off with a young Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) who is seen being abducted from Earth with his little backpack and Walkman. You then see him 20 years later exploring a derelict planet for an artefact. Think of it as Tomb Raider meets Indiana Jones, but in space. He Stumbles across Korath the Pursuer (Djimon Hounsou) in which he narrowly escapes, heads to Xander, the home of the Nova Corps in which he gets into a situation which leaves him imprisoned. At this point, he teams up with 4 other guys, Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) & his friend Groot (Vin Diesel) who decide to work together from that point onwards for a greater cause, sort of. There is a lot more to the film, but I would be spoiling it. Ronan the Accuser (Lee Pace), along with Nebula (Karen Gillian), under directions from Thanos (Josh Brolin), go after the artefact, currently being held by Star Lord and they find themselves in an entanglement between Ronan the Accuser, Yondu and the significance of the artefact in their possession. The Guardians of the Galaxy must come together and make the right choice.

This film for me was NOT the best Marvel film of this year, as I do believe, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is, but is most definitely a great film. The film doesn't take itself too seriously and the characters are weird and wonderful with a lot of depth. The film is visually, stunning and you really do get a feel of space and the many different worlds you see. A little bit like Thor, but greater. Most of all, the film is very funny. The characters work very well together, although their dynamic is weird and with their depth, they more or less bounce off one another as they work as a team.
My only faults I found with this movie, was that, the villain could have been explored a little more have been a bit more villainy. Also, although everyone more or less had a back story, it would have been nice to go that little bit deeper with the back stories of the Guardians and I did feel that Gamora, being the universes most deadliest assassin was watered down and I just didn't see enough from her.

But with that said, A great film to watch. Very entertaining. It is like watching Avengers: Assemble again but with a weird looking cast and a barrel of laughs. Go out and see it before the sequel comes out.

(film review) - Captain America: The Winter Soldier

So, I saw this film as an early screening after tons and tons of trailers and clips and EVERYTHING. Needless to say that this was most definitely OVERKILL and although the film looked great, I was pretty much sick and tired of it all. At one stage, I went to see a film and ended up seeing a 10 minute clip of CA:TWS and although it got me interested in the film, I couldn't help but think, "gimme the movie now, alright!". I felt it was totally unnecessary.

So, as the film starts, I see the same 10 minute clip at the very beginning of the film that I saw before watching another film and I was upset. I've seen it all before. I was a little annoyed, but to be fair, the clip was excellent, so although I had already seen it, there were some great memorable bits I remembered and bits I didn't see as I was probably laughing too hard. And just like that, the film opens out into greatness!

For those who do not know anything about CAP; Steve Rogers aka Captain America (Chris Evans) was a weak and frail young man who underwent a scientific experiment to become an enhanced human at the peak of human perfection with an experimental serum in aid to win World War II. As this worked out to be a success, Steve Rogers fought in the war and with his efforts and the defeating of the villain named Red Skull who was trying to use a cosmic cube called the Tesseract to carry out evil villainess things, Captain America crash lands his plane to save countries from being totally obliterated by Weapons of Mass Destruction. Presumed dead and is later found 70 years later, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) welcomes Captain America: The First Avenger to a brand new world where things have changed a great deal.
Shortly after being "awoken", Captain America joins, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Black Widow & The Hulk in a desperate effort to stop Loki (Thor's Brother) from using the same cosmic cube, The Tesseract to open a wormhole which will unleash an alien race called the Chitauri to overpower and control Earth. With Loki's defeat and everyone going back to their "normal" lives, Captain America is still trying to adjust to living in a completely different world which is 70 years on and also has Aliens, Gods and Magic thrown into the mix. Not only is this something which will take some time adjusting to, Captain America who now works with S.H.I.E.L.D's espionage agency, is dubious about how Shield operate, their motives and who he can really trust. This is where CA:TWS kicks off with a Bang and becomes one of my most entertaining marvel films in a long time. Possibly since The Avengers.

With a secret operation looming involving 3 Helicarriers led by Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford), which will be used to eliminate threats worldwide, things turn sour when Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) doesn't tell Captain America about her mission objectives, Nick Fury gets attacked by an unknown assailant and CAP gets framed the the death of someone really important (I'm trying to keep this Spoiler free). With no one to turn to or trust, Steve Rogers teams up with Sam Wilson aka The Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and tries to clear his name, solve the mystery of the death of that important person, uncover S.H.E.I.L.D Secrets and who this new player/myth/ghost/legend is they call The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan).

This film is much darker than the first film. Grittier and is more of a suspense thriller than just a comic book movie like how The Avengers was. I understand that billions of people worldwide did not like the first Captain America film, but I did. No it wasn't great, but to put that film into context with eras and timing, the first film made sense to me. This film on the other hand, could not be any more perfect than it already is. The bar was raised as the stakes are very high. The acting, the fight scenes, the characters, the secrets, the lies, the suspense, it was all too much. The film has a very serious tone to it as well as being laced with comedy throughout and still manages to portray a comic book movie.

I could not give anymore praise to this film as everything worked. It makes me completely appreciate (to an extent) the reasons why the promotion for this film was heavily pushed. The first film only made, 370 Million at the box office on a 140 Million Budget. And although it made more than double the cost of the film, when a film like Iron Man 3 can make 1.2 Billion on a 200 Million Budget, the push made a lot of sense. Hopefully, everyone who is caught up in Marvel's Cinematic Universe will go to see this or who would give this one a chance after possibly not liking the first one, I could not stress any more that, if you do not see this film, there is something really wrong with you. Like, really wrong with you. Especially if you do not like it.

Never in my life have I wanted to be a shield agent with Nick Fury status...AND I watch Marvel's Agents of Shield. I might even see it again over the weekend.

Go and watch it...you won't be disappointed. Oh, AND you don't need to have seen the first one or The Avengers to pick up the storyline.

(film review) - Iron Man 3

Most people love technology and flashy hi-tech stuff. Moreover, having an Iron Man suit is something you are likely to put on your Christmas wish-list. I mean, who wouldn't want to shoot energy proton lasers from their chest or hands? Better yet, running late for work? Suit-Up and fly to work. With invincible armor, you can do almost anything you like, right? Well, sort of, but it doesn't stop you from being human.

Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) has endured a lot of things. Since becoming Iron Man, his life has become more important and at the same time, even more at risk. There are bad guys everywhere who want a piece of that armor or a least some kind of armor which works just the same. Obadiah Stane with the Iron Monger suit. Ivan Vanko as Whiplash with his energy powered "whips". And with almost losing his life, again, after aliens attack New York, Tony Stark is left in a state or shock and restlessness. I mean, from someone being someone who is super intelligent, one of quite a bit, to having a armor powered suit which renders him invincible, to fighting and trying to save the planet from an alien takeover/war with a Norse GOD, a Super Soldier who was frozen in captivity and a man who can double in size, strength, leap huge distances and turn green, Tony doesn't sit well with this at all and has been finding this hard to adjust to. It is a lot, if you think about it.

This time around though, we have Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), a disabled Scientist who works with Maya Hansen, the inventor of Extremis, who at a New Years Eve Party in 1999, is celebrating with Tony and Killian where Killian offers Tony a job with Advanced Idea Mechanics. Tony turns the job down and years later, Killian is a successful business man in science.

However, The Mandarin emerges causing terror, with threats, jammed public broadcasting and a string of bombings everywhere which leaves Tony's pal and security chief Happy Hogan in hospital. At this point, this is the last straw for Tony who leaves the Mandarin a televised threat in which the Mandarin excepts the invitation by bombing Starks Mansion. Presumed dead and far away from home, Tony must uncover the truth about the Mandarin, the bombings and a possible love interest in Killian to Pepper Potts as he has been driving her away with his recent behaviour.

I think I was expecting too much from this film as I felt it could have been better. But with that said, remembering how the film played out, the acting, the plot, the twists, the technology and the action; this film does everything the second film doesn't and keeps the film a little bit more grounded and closer to the first Iron Man film. Not to say, in my opinion of course that Iron Man 2 wasn't good as I liked it, but Iron Man 3 excels where Iron Man 2 doesn't. The film is darker, funnier and has a more humane feel to it. The Iron Man suits are always great to see and in action, especially when 6 - 7 and then some, fly to Tony's aid in the final scenes with the bad guy. Even War Machine aka The Iron Patriot has a bigger role in this film than the previous films and added a little bit of that buddy on buddy back to back fighting Iron Man 2 left us with.

If you enjoyed the previous films, this one will be no different.

(film review) - Captain America: The First Advenger

Steve Rogers was just any ordinary guy, but when Steve Rogers bit into a Banana, he became... actually, that's Eric. Steve Rogers bits into a banana and becomes, Steve Rogers, no changes. Poor guy. But with that said, the story of Steve Rogers goes like this. He is an average guy, if anything, very thin, mild-mannered and would do anything for his country; even join the Army. However, Steve gets rejected for the Army on multiple occassions for not passing standard requirements and then puts himself down for the super soldier enhancement program which turns him into Captain America. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, sinister Johann Schmidt aka Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) is trying to rule the with a device called the 'Tesseract', and Captain America is the only person who can stop him, along with his band of merry men.

Dispite what anyone says, this film is very decent. I think, if you compare with Ironman and Ironman 2, then your not understanding the film and when it was set. However one thing you will need to remember is that this film is or the time period is half a centry before modern technology, i.e Tony Stark Iron Man Era.

Have a watch of the film, you should like it as it is very watchable and when you think of the prospect of this being the beginning of the Avengers, you know that The Avengers and sequels to this film will be much better.

(film review) - Iron Man 2

Tony Stark: "I am Iron Man". Wow! What a way to end a film, eh? Then if you stayed to the end of the credits, you were treated to a short scene starring Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) where Nick Fury talks to Tony about The 'Avenger Initiative'. Exciting right? More films, yaaay! Avenger's what? I'm sure your happy nonetheless. So, word on a new Iron Man film featuring side-kick War Machine must have got some people sooo hyped up they accidently excreted on themselves.

Anyway, just before I go into this, Terrence Howard should have kept to being 'James Rupert Rhodes', I'm pretty sure he could have made a pretty penny from some sequels and maybe his own film, but hey....whatever really. Someone is Laughing somewhere.

Now that the world knows Tony Stark is Iron Man, he is still seemingly, untouchable. Senator Stern wants the Iron Man suit for the U.S Government, but although it might have deemed a super idea to fight crime and terrorism throughout the world, Tony Stark refuses, knowing that his suit in the wrong hands will be dangerous.
In the mean time, Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) tracks down Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) who was apprended after he pulled a stint at the Circuit de Monaco whilst Stark was driving, caught him off-gaurd and well, almost killed him. Might I just add here that, Tony Stark has a portable Iron Man suit which is dressed up as a Briefcase. That scene was just exciting.

So, after lapsing at his own party, a very drunk Tony Stark upsets his pal Rhodey who then puts on the "other" suit and they have an Iron Fist-de-cuff which results in Iron Man getting his Arse whooped and Rhodey stealing the suit. Given to the Milatary who tamper with the suit and buy Arms from Justin Hammer, they make the other suit into a War Machine and with Ivan working with Justice Hammer, he makes an amy of Super Robots both, Navy, Air Force and Military to be programmed to kill Tony Stark led by an in-house player.

All a bit much, right? Well I can assure you that this film was interesting, exciting, but short. Maybe not even short as in length-wise, but the fight scenes just didn't seem long enough. I know it's Iron Man, but he was barly battered from pillar to post.

i thoroughly enjoyed this film and left the cinema thinking, that was great. But when you thought the film through, you wanted more, expected more and well, although War Machine WAS more and there WAS more enemies if you want to include the drones; it just didn't seem like it was enough. I wanted to leave the cinema thinking, The Invincible Iron Man, but I never.

You'll enjoy this anyway. Funny where it needs to be, serious where it needs to be and also, incase you didn't know, wait till AFTER the credits. The Film actually stars TWO Hammer's. Think about it.